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Call for literary translators – The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2024

Literary Contests • News
20th November, 2023
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The National Book Council (NBC) is excited to extend an invitation to skilled Maltese-English translators to contribute their expertise to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2024.

7,359 writers submitted a short story. Out of these a record-breaking number of submissions from Malta were received this year, 51 in total, of which 14 are in Maltese. Three captivating short stories in Maltese, carefully selected by an experienced Maltese reader, await translation into English for consideration in this literary competition. If you possess the linguistic prowess and artistry to bring these narratives to life in English, we encourage you to apply and play a crucial role in sharing these compelling stories with a global audience.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English or translated into English. Each year, they select five winning stories from the five different Commonwealth regions – Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean and the Pacific. Translated stories will be considered for the longlist, which will be presented to the judges on 20 December 2023. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2024 judging panel is chaired by Ugandan-British novelist and short story writer Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, along with distinguished judges from each Commonwealth region.The 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is now closed for entries and the judging process is underway. The shortlist will be announced in April, the regional winners in May, and the overall winner in June 2024.

Regional winners receive £2,500, and the overall winner receives £5,000. If the winning story is a translation, the translator will also receive additional prize money. 

Eligibility
This opportunity is open to literary translators with proficiency in translating Maltese into English. Applicants should demonstrate a strong command of both languages to accurately convey the essence and nuances of the original stories, and are required to submit previous published work as well as their CV and a cover letter.

Application Deadline
The deadline for submitting your CV, cover letter and excerpts of previously published Maltese-English translation work is Wednesday 22 November 2023 at 12 pm (noon).

Submission Guidelines
Please fill out the form below and send your CV indicating your previous experience as a literary translator, as well as excerpts of previously published Maltese-English translation work, and a cover letter also indicating your availability to translate one, two or all three short stories by 13 December 2023.

Notification
Successful translators will be notified of their selection on 24 November by end of day and will be sent the short story/stories for translation the same day. Up to three translators can be selected for this job.
Please indicate your availability to translate one short story or more short stories.

Deadline
Deadline to submit the translated short story is 14 December 2023. CV, excerpts and cover letter should be sent to simona.cassano@ktieb.org.mt

Compensation
The all-inclusive translation fee for will be €0.10 per source word excl. VAT.
The word count of the three short stories are as follows: 3,199 words; 3,095 words; 4,918 words.

Selection
The National Book Council reserves the right to select the appropriate applicant in consultation with the Maltese reader who reviewed the original, and will ensure the process remains completely anonymous (the National Book Council has no knowledge of the identity of the author of each short story).

We appreciate your commitment to bringing Maltese literature to a global audience.

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